


Mávros Thánatos

by Maleficent_Descent



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cat BB-8, Dragon to Human, Dragon! AU, Dragons are cats with scales, F/M, Familiars, Healer Witch, Kylo as a Dragon, M/M, Rey has magic, Witch! Rey, cause he needs it, fight me, in dragon form, that needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:58:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13745352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maleficent_Descent/pseuds/Maleficent_Descent
Summary: All Rey wanted was to live alone in the woods with her familiar, making medicinal herbs and learning to hone her gift. However, when the village she frequents is threatened by a dragon known as the Black Death, she is taken hostage and offered as a sacrifice. Only, it wasn't her life that the dragon wanted...





	1. Chapter 1

 The sun was setting, it was soon time to go back. Rey gathered the last of the Flax seeds into her basket, along with the rosemary and chicory she found earlier that day, placing them gently beside the other herbs. She gathered her brown cloak around her, half of her brown hair braided back out of her face and falling down her back. She murmured gently to her familiar, BB-8, and the orange and black cat flitted around her ankles with a chirp.

She made her way back to her small hut, walking briskly as the autumn chill began to creep into the forest around her. _The Flax should help Finn with his stomach ache,_ she thought, and tamped her boots onto the step to get the mud off and made her way inside. She stoked the fire and began to heat up some of her leftover stew for dinner, placing a pot of water over the hearth to warm for her tea. Rey smiled as BB-8 meowed and batted her cape for his dinner, and placed some leftover chicken bits onto his dish and fresh water she grabbed from the stream earlier that day.

Rey sat in her chair by the hearth, letting the warmth sink into her boots and chase away the chill. _I need to grab more St. John's Wort and Yarrow before the chill really sets in,_ she mused _,_ _as well as chopping more firewood and smoking some venison for the weather._

_Not that many of the villagers would be willing to sell other than Finn,_ she thought sourly, remembering the distrusting looks she received from the different villagers, including the Priest Unkar. It was well known that she wasn't overly welcome in the village, and people only interacted with her when they needed her healing skills. The tension in the village was growing worse and worse, as rumors of dragon attacks spread and more and more cattle and small trinkets were stolen. Many whispered that it was a bad omen, some of the nastier ones saying it was because of the woman who lived alone in the woods. As the hostility grew, Rey began to visit the village less and less, now visiting when it was only strictly necessary.

BB-8, now full and happy, settled into his basket near the fire, and commenced his daily cleaning ritual, purring the whole time. Rey could feel his waves of content from there, and seeing the stew was finally warm enough to eat, she served herself a bowl and grabbed some crusty bread off of the counter. She ate quickly, her days as a starving orphan still instilling on her the need to eat quickly. After she finished, she placed her bowl near the other dirty dishes, grabbing a cloth to wash them down.

Rey stiffened, a chill rolling down her spine, and she heard the faint sound of wing beats in the air. She quickly cloaked her and BB-8's magiic, the cat giving a startled meow but remaining quiet when he heard the leathery beats. Rey held her breath as the dragon seemed to hover, then let it out when the noise faded into the distance, slowly unfurling her magic until she couldn't sense it any more.

As she finished up around the house and climbed into bed, Rey thought about the unusually large amount of magic that the creature emitted, never before meeting another being that had that level of power. _One thing is for certain though,_ she thought as she climbed into the small bed and blew out the candle, _I definitely don't want to meet the source of that power._

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Kylo Ren gave a small puff of fire to warm his chilled wings as he flew, lazily circling around the midnight sky, blending in seamlessly. He flew over the mountainside, making his way to the small village that had a large amount of cattle, thinking of grabbing one or two for the night.

As he flew, he felt the presence of magic, rather strong since he knew no other magical creatures would dare enter his territory. The magic was calmer though, almost pure and he perked up his head, intrigued and decided to investigate. He flew over to the source, catlike eyes narrowed with curiosity as he tried to make out the source through the trees.

As he hovered closer, he felt the presence abruptly disappear. Shocked that someone that strong could cloak themselves that easily, he was interrupted by his stomach growling for food.

_I'll investigate later_ , he decided, and flew off towards the village. Flitting through the sky, he landed silently near a farm, creeping up on a herd of sleeping cows. Keeping his weight balanced so that they wouldn't awaken with his normal earth-quaking footsteps, he quickly snatched one cow with his jaws, clamping down to quickly sever the spinal cord and keep the cow silent. Another was dispatched similarly, and he took them into his claws and flew back to his horde.

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Rey knew, the next day when she walked into the village, that something was very off. All of the villagers seemed on edge, none of them meeting her eyes as she walked through the marketplace. When she went to give her herbs to one of the nuns, she was greeted with hostile stares as Unkar waddled his way out of the church entrance and stared at her with disdain. Rey watched as the villagers piled into the church, wondering why they were gathering for mass so close to sunset.

"What is the meeting about?" she asked the nun as she handed over her herbs. The woman took them quickly, and gave her a cautious look.

"We are having a village meeting to talk about the lost cattle and what's to be done about the dragon plaguing our village," the woman said shortly, and hustled inside.

"Please join us," Unkar boomed, gesturing inside the church where the rest of the villagers waited. Rey walked in cautiously, all of her instincts warning her that something was not right, and found an open spot towards the middle and slid in silently. A few faces looked at her distrustfully, some with hidden shame, and some staring blankly ahead at the crucifix on the wall. Unkar made his way to the altar and began.

"Our village has been plagued with a creature of the devil!" He thundered, and murmurs of agreement washed through the crowd. Rey looked around nervously, trying to find Finn, but she couldn't spot him anywhere.

"We have lost multiple cattle, sheep, and many of those in the congregation have lost precious valuables that were in their families for generations. But fear not," he continued, "the source of our plague will be expunged from this village, and with it the hellish creature that has harmed us so."

"But father," one of the villagers asked, "What is to be done about the losses we've taken?"

Unkar gave a smug smile, "Fear not, for the losses you take will be recompensed by good deeds of this congregation, and remember my son that Jesus teaches us 'that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' God has brought this plague to test us, and we must pass his test or be damned to hell!" 

The man looked disgruntled, but others in the congregation began to agree with Unkar, the uneasy feeling growing in her gut as she eyed the exits, noticing that all were blocked. Unkar continued, his face beginning to grow sweaty as his speech continued.

"Therefore, we must cleanse ourselves of our disease, so that we may be healed in the light of purity."

A chorus of "Amen!" answered him, the crowd looking more and more feverish as they succumbed to the impure holiness of his words. 

"We must cast out the witch in our midst and let the devil that plagues us be our recompense for our sins."

Rey felt a chill go down her spine as many eyes turned to her. 

_ Oh no. _

"Grab the Witch."

Rey felt multiple hands converging on her at once, her scratching and biting doing nothing against the fever riddled crowd as they tied her up with rope and dragged her outside to a post at the top of the hill in clear view of the mountains. 

"Please, please no! I'm not a witch, I'm a healer! Don't do this!"

Her cries fell on deaf ears, and she looked back at the church to see Unkar giving her a victorious smirk, and she gritted her teeth. If she needed to use her magic to escape she would do so, even though she despised hurting others. The villagers finished tying her to the post, and many faded away back into the church to pray. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as Rey struggled against her binds, her magic fluctuating wildly. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, and if the dragon's previous behavior was anything to go by, he would be here in under an hour. 

As the time passed and her magic began to fail her, Rey shivered in the cold, watching the sun dip lower and lower into the horizon. Closing her eyes, she looked down at her feet, feeling once again the sting of tears as her death loomed nearer and nearer. 

She trembled as she heard wing beats grow closer and closer, her magic still whipping around her as her emotions rolled. Her shaking increased as the flapping of wings got closer, and bit back a shriek when the ground quaked beneath her as the dragon landed and ambled towards her. 

He was black as night, and about the size of a ship, his long claws scraping the dirt as he prowled closer, and absolutely terrifying. The dragon dropped its head towards her, a large golden eye surveying her as he gave a puff of smoke. Whether it was intentional or not, the smoke warmed her, and she finally met his eyes. Even though he was to be her executioner, he gave her some small comfort before her death. 

"Thank you," she whispered, and gave a tremulous smile. Her magic finally calmed and gently brushed against his own, and the eye surveying her widened. Raising himself back up, Rey closed her eyes as she waited for the large fangs to pierce her. 

Unbeknownst to her, the dragon studied her once more, then gave a short nod to itself and unfurled its wings. Rey braced herself, and shrieked when instead of being eaten alive, the dragons claw sliced her ropes, then grabbed her in one of its paws. Panicking, Rey fought against it's hold, screaming as the dragon took off. Feeling the sharp claws slicing at her body, she froze as the dragon gave an irritated growl. 

Looking down, Rey saw the land around them slowly look smaller and smaller, and her panic grew and grew. _Too high too high too high toohightoohightoohigh,_ she thought frantically, her body shivering both from fear and the cold. She could feel that her heart was beating too fast, the stress of the day and her brush with death causing the normally sturdy girl to finally faint, body limp in the dragon's claws as he flew into the night sky. 

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	2. Chapter 2

Kylo cradled the little witch into his body more, trying to provide her limp form some warmth in the chilling autumn air. He was curious about her, she was an unusual offering to say the least. As one of the most powerful dragons out there, he had been offered mounds of gold until he grew bored with it, bejeweled chalices and goblets, prized art, statues, rare tomes with a plethora of unique spells, and furs so soft that they almost didn't register to the touch. He had been given it all, but never, in his hundreds of years of existence, had he been given a living being as an offering to keep his hunger at bay. 

He saw his home in the distance, the cave protected by the impenetrable nature of the landscape around it--the sheer cliff faced the sea, craggy rocks below and the cliff-face too sheer to climb. The only way into the cave was his preferred form of travel--flying. He needn't worry about other dragons attempting to sneak in and steal his horde, the cave was warded against intruders and anyone attempting to enter without his express permission would face a nasty curse. 

Circling around, Kylo landed gracefully on the edge of the cave lip, carefully crouching and shuffling on three legs deeper into the cave, until it finally widened into a cavern large enough to where, even stretched fully, his head could not hit the ceiling. Moving slowly, he observed the passed-out witch in his front paw, seeing that the ordeal had exhausted her. Looking over to the pile of precious furs, he gently set her onto them, dragging a pelt over her to keep her warm during the night. 

Settling onto his own nest, he watched the witch carefully, taking in her appearance in repose. She was young, he was surprised to note, a lot younger than her world-worn green-gold eyes portrayed her to be. She had long brown hair that had tones of auburn in the low firelight, skin tanned and freckled from days in the sun, and he could sense the magic slumbering within her. 

However, it wasn't just the magic that drew him to her, it was the gentle spirit he could see in her eyes. She was clearly a fighter, if the torn clothing and rope burned wrists were any indication, but he sensed a loneliness in her eyes that called to his own.  She was a worthy treasure, he decided, but he knew she needed some training, as well as a good meal. She was skinny, he was unhappy to note, her collarbones were far too prominent, and he could see the stretch of ribs where her dress had ripped. 

Snorting a puff of smoke in irritation, still restless, Kylo clambered out to go hunt down some game to to satisfy his hunger and to feed his new charge, moving silently across his hoard to the cave entrance and making sure that the girl was still fast asleep. Seeing that she still hadn't moved, Kylo nodded to himself and slipped out into the night. 

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Rey was more comfortable than she could ever remember being, her mind still fuzzy and confused. She moved her hand across the surface she was burrowed into, marveling at the softness underneath her. Shifting slightly, she tried to figure out where she was, snippets of being taken in a giant black paw. _Oh,_ _I must be dead,_ she thought, relieved, _that would explain why everything is so nice._ Shifting again, Rey winced when the movement agitated the cut on her forehead. 

_Wait, if I'm in heaven, why am I in pain?_ She grumped _,_ _t_ _hat doesn’t make sense._

_Wait._

Eyes snapping open, Rey shot up out of the furs she was swaddled in, looking around disoriented. She was surrounded by more riches then she thought anyone could possibly own. Shiny gold coins littered the cave floor, the torches in the walls giving the other bejeweled treasures a low gleam. The cavern she was in was massive, the craggy cave ceiling not even visible in the low lights of the cave, the gentle sound of ocean waves echoing around the space. 

Wrestling her way out of the furs, she stood on wobbly legs, still tired and sore from her ordeal with the villagers. Looking around, she tried to see if she could find any evidence that the dragon was nearby, but she couldn't sense his overwhelming magical presence. Releasing a breath once she realized she was relatively safe, Rey slowly crept around his horde, careful not to disturb anything, remembering that dragons were notoriously possessive of their treasures. 

She crept towards the sound of the ocean water, noting that it seemed to be the only way out of the cave as far as her eyes could see. Following the dim lighting, she peered over the edge of the cliff-face, the full moon illuminating the crests of the waves as they crashed upon the jagged rocks about a hundred feet or so below her. _Can’t go that way_ , she thought sourly, trying to see if there was any way to scale out of the cave on the side. Since she lived alone in the forest, she was more than accustomed to climbing difficult trees and traversing the difficult landscape to get her medicinal ingredients, but scaling a sheer cliff, at night no less, was an entirely different story. 

_Well, it's either die by falling off a cliff or getting eaten alive by an oversized reptile,_ Rey thought, resigned. Setting her lips in a grim line, she took off the tattered remains of her skirt, wincing as the cold air bit at her exposed skin. Clad in only a thin shirt with the remainder of her breeches on, Rey walked over to the side of the cave, towards one of the only holds she could see. Ignoring the scraping roughness of the rock under her fingers, Rey began to slowly climb the cliff, being careful to hold the rock in a white fingered grip every time the wind battered viciously at her.

The strain of the climb, along with the cold bite of the wind, began to wear at Rey. After climbing for around thirty minutes, Rey looked up to see that she was barely even halfway up the cliff. "Just keep going," she muttered to herself, clenching her jaw as the freezing wind tore at her, "There's no turning back now." She kept climbing, knowing that by the cold aching of her hands that she had little time left to get up the rest of the cliff without losing her grip. Shaking more now, Rey tried to find another foothold on the cliff, only to feel her other foot lose its hold. 

_Shit shit shit,_ she thought, cursing, and grunted as she held herself up with only the weight of her hands, her feet scrabbling to find her previous foothold. It was too much—her frantic movement, along with a strong gust of wind, had her falling off the cliff as a scream tore from her throat. 

Sharp claws grasped at the back of her tunic, stopping her fall abruptly and causing her to choke as the hem of her shirt dug into her neck. Rey saw as she ascended the cliff, rising back to the cave as the dragon placed her back on the ledge, before knocking her back inside with a grumble. More scared than she had ever been in her life, Rey sprinted into the cave, trying to find a place to hide. 

The dragon ambled behind her, as if amused by her panic, before grabbing the back of her tunic and plopping her back onto the furs. Coiling around her, making sure there was no way the female could escape, golden catlike eyes looked at her with amusement. 

"Where did you think you were going, little witch?" A deep, growling voice asked, cocking his head to the side and looking quizzically at the scared female. "That cliff face is impossible to climb for a reason," he rumbled softly, "I would not have some thief climb in to steal my treasures."

Rey looked dumbfounded, completely speechless that the dragon was able to speak, and he looked amused. "Did you think I was unable to communicate like every other beast out there?" He chuckled and dipped his head closer so the puffs of his breath hit her, warming her chilled body, "No, little witch. Dragons are no common beast and can speak just like any other witch or warlock can."

Rey finally responded, her voice scratchy, "How do you know that I'm a witch?" She asked, "I have never done anything special, and so far the only thing I could be useful for is a light snack, since you have a plethora of your own magic."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then gave a lazy shrug, "I could sense the magic within you, because it calls to me. I wanted it for my own, that is why I took you."

Rey looked down glumly, nervous again. "So I am going to be a snack." She sighed, and then held her arms out expectantly, clenching her eyes shut. "Alright then, let's get this over with."

Rey waited for the sharp bite of teeth with bated breath, trying to stop the trembling of her hands. When a minute passed, and nothing happened, she finally peeked an eye open. The dragon was looking at her as if she were insane, eyes wide. 

"You think I want to eat you?" He asked incredulously, almost looking offended. "No, little witch." Shaking his head, he leaned down once more. "You are now one of my treasures. I do not intend to eat you. Quite the opposite, actually."

Rey lowered her arms, and looked at him, puzzled. He offered her a grin, or as much of a grin as a dragon could give. "No, little witch. I wish for a companion, someone to break the boredom that I can converse with."

Rey looked at him incredulously. "So you took me because you wanted someone to talk to?"

"Yes and no," he mused, "You also hold a large well of magic within you. You have done well manipulating it thus far, but you need a teacher, that is why I took you."

"What if I don't want to be taught your magic?" She asked, raising a brow. 

He snorted, "If that is the case then I should have let you fall. No, it would be a waste of potential to kill you, so you will learn."

"I'm getting the sense," Rey asked sardonically, "that this isn't really going to be much of a negotiation is it?"

He looked smug. "Correct, little witch," he looked down at her shivering body and gave a snort of disapproval. "It is late, and you need your rest. To bed."

He walked away towards what was likely his nest, gesturing with his tail at the mound of furs. "Use these to keep warm during the night, I have no need for them."

Sighing resignedly, Rey did as she was bid, not wanting to drive the large beast to anger. Shuffling under the furs, Rey looked over to see the dragon settle, curling his wings over his body like a blanket.

She got comfortable, before she asked, "If you are going to teach me, may I at least know what you are called?"

He was quiet, and Rey took that to mean that the dragon had already fallen asleep. Rolling over, she turned towards the sound of the ocean, trying to drift off to sleep before she heard a low rumble.

"I am called Kylo Ren."

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone I'm alive! This chapter was a bitch and a half to churn out, but I'm pretty excited with where the story is going. Just as and FYI, I have changed my username on AO3 to Shade_of_Roses, so if you wish to find my other works on different sites please look for that username. 
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments and let me know what you think! :)


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